Christmas is also a time for story-telling. So, by accident I stumbled upon an almost forgotten story in my email-account. I am happy to share this text with you and hope, it is a nice read for somone. It´s in English. But who would not want to know how Mona Lisa and Dan Brown get together in one story… Merry Christmas 2014

Christmas Smile

It was Christmas. Even at the Louvre, the world-famous art museum, pace seemed to slow down. There were less visitors, less noise and the warm light of the exhibition halls added a kind of festive atmosphere. Mona Lisa was not happy though.

At least, this was the impression Mr. Marcel had. Mr. Marcel had been working as a security guard in the museum for more than 30 years now. He was most present in Mona Lisa´s “audience chamber”. That was his name for the room No. 6, where Mona Lisa was displayed to the public. Mona Lisa was secured behind bulletproof glass. There was a steel wire to keep visitors at bay. This was necessary for the most famous picture on earth. Estimated value: 1 Trillion Euro! Mr. Marcel took another glance at the features of the Italian lady. Normally, she smiled to everyone. The security guard noticed a frown today. Another wave of flashlights made him blink. Sometimes it was worse than being on a red carpet. One hour later, everything was over. Mr. Marcel made his last walk and turned off the light. “Merry Christmas Mona Lisa”, he whispered into the darkness.

It was no fun to work on Christmas Day, but someone had to do the job. Mr. Marcel did not mind. It would be a calm day. After his routine check, he entered Mona Lisa´s room. Mona Lisa was smiling.

No, it was more than a smile. She was radiating. Mr. Marcel wondered, if he was the only one noticing the change. He stepped to the side and onto something on the ground. That was curious…it was a copy of the bestselling novel “The da Vinci Code”. But he was 100% sure that this book had not been there on the evening before. Something was not right. Mr. Marcel intended to find out what it was. And what way would be more reasonable than to check the video surveillance. This was the Louvre, cameras were literally everywhere. Mr. Marcel was not sure what to do. He had browsed through the recordings for a while now.

At 10.30PM an old man with a white beard suddenly appeared on the footage. He sat down in front of Mona Lisa and started to read. Obviously, out of the copy he found. The stranger looked like the perfect imitation of Santa Claus. Red clothes, a black belt and this snow-white beard. Where he got from Mr. Marcel did not know, but this person looked so real. Four minutes later the man disappeared. This was a strange incident. Mr. Marcel was obliged to report this discovery to his superiors. It was all about security, safety and proper regulations. Mr. Marcel made a decision. Mona Lisa was smiling again. That was worth more than any regulation. He made sure that the book was still in the pocket of his jacket. Then he deleted the tape. He could always blame the IT-system for the loss. “The da Vinci Code” had been opened on page 35. He was going to read the next ten pages to Mona Lisa at the end of the shift. Mr. Marcel smiled.